Faith Talk Friday: I say "No Longer"

Because we are imperfect human beings, we can get so discouraged in our hearts, in our circumstances, in our day-to-day lives, in our workplaces, in our families. It's a discouragement that leaves us feeling like we've fallen down into a black bottomless pit. Falling, falling, always falling. Been there? Feeling like there's no possible way out; like there's nothing anybody can do to make things ok? I have many times.
 

 

It's actually ridiculous the amount of times that I have been so close to giving up. So close to throwing in the towel; whether it be in my marriage, my mothering, keeping this house, serving in church, my own personal dreams and goals, supporting extended family members. By nature I am prone to discouragement and negativity. Prone to depression and fear. This is my old self, the one that I am constantly up against and constantly trying to whip into line with the truth my God and Saviour speaks to me.

 

It's the ugly self that satan uses to flaunt my weaknesses and how pathetic he thinks I am in front of my face. He's harsh, and sometimes, I believe Him. I really do. I hear that voice in my ear that tells me 'I'm never going to achieve this or that'; that 'I'll never be able to victoriously move through difficult situations or times of grief'; I'm 'never going to be able to change this or that'; that 'I'm never going to be beautiful'; that  'the hurt won't heal'; that 'I'll never be able to even come before my God in prayer, because you know how you just behaved Elisha, and you're now so unworthy of even showing your face in His presence'. He is persistent.

 

But  (I love that there's a but) ...

 

... God's love is relentless. It's only Him who gets me through anything. I am learning that prayer is so overwhelmingly powerful. It is what holds me together. Have you ever gotten to the point where you just know that you know, that there is no way in this whole wide world that you can ever be the mother, the wife, the friend, the Christ-follower you long to be without Him helping you do it? Without Him sustaining your every effort, your every thought, action, prayer, dream, path, everything?

 

This is that point where we refuse to let satan have his way with us any longer. To flaunt that old self in front of us in condemnation. We are told over and over again that God has won victories for us, He has overcome, He loves us to no end, His plans are only for our good, that nothing can separate us from His love, that we are the head and not the tail, that He is the beginning and the end, that He will finish the good work that He has begun in us, that He alone is faithful, that He leads and guides us, that He gives us His wisdom, that He forgives and forgets our confessed sins, that we are white as snow, that we have the authority of Jesus Christ, that we are friends of Christ, that we are more than conquerors.

 

 

 

Can you see where I'm going with this? Do you believe it? We are not living a life that is controlled by the enemy. We are living a life that overcomes the enemy because Christ has already defeated him. We are living a life that is led and governed by our great and mighty Father and beautiful women, we must start standing up and saying to the enemy 'no longer.' No longer will you hold me bound in a life of fear. No longer will you tell me I can't pray because of my sin. No longer will you tell me my marriage is hopeless. No longer will you tell me my child will never change. No longer will I listen to your filthy, vile whisperings in my ear. My heart is not yours. My life is not yours. My family is not yours. My future is not yours. Nothing I have is yours, you do not own me, you cannot harm me, I am no longer going to allow to you hold me back in this life. No longer am I going to live a life that is second rate because you are wanting to steal from me, harm and attempt to kill and destroy me. You are not going to hold me back any longer.

 

 

We must choose to live in the truth of the Word of Christ. We must choose to live in the power of prayer. I need to pray. We need to pray. Praying is one of the most amazing things I do to see results in my life. Even when I don't feel like praying, even when it looks like there's no answers. Even when, and I've been here many times, I have not even known what it is I am exactly praying for or needing Him to work in. Times like this we can pray one sentence prayers, "Lord, please don't leave me where I am". "Lord, work your self into my heart". "Lord, help me to not miss the small moments". "Lord, help me to be the wife and mother you need me to be". "God please bring them back to you". "God, help my unbelief".

 

 

Our God is faithful to hear us, equip us, guide us, strengthen us, help us, and free us. When we believe Him, and choose to put ourselves in His presence we can be assured that He is faithful to answer. His peace will guard our hearts and minds. The circumstances may not change, they may get worse. The answer may come, though not as we want. We may struggle with the same thing the very next day and the day after that. But He never leaves us, He never stops working in us, His plans for us are never for anything but good. He never stops loving us. He sustains us, His power is made perfect in our weakness and His grace is sufficient. The enemy has no hold over us.

 

 

Will you join me, beautiful friend in living a life that overcomes the enemy to the praise of His glorious Name? I encourage you this week, to strengthen yourself through His Word and by writing out a list of verses that speak of the victories we have in Christ. Lean into him in prayer this week, and He will grant you the peace, the contentment and the power that can and should be yours.  

 

 If you're reading this and you don't know of Gods love for you, or you need some questions answered, please make sure you leave a comment. Sometimes we all need a listening ear.

 

You can click here to go to one of my favourite blogs for more great reads too.

 

Family Friendly Wednesday: Two Cute Boys and One Cute Dog

It was a glorious day outside when I was enjoying watching my two sons playing with our puppy, Prince Caspian. It was one of those times where I stopped as a mummy and remembered how privileged and blessed I am to be the mother of these two young men.

 

  

 

It's so important to notice our children, to enjoy them at each stage, even if difficult. To try and purposefully observe the moments that we share with our children. These are the moments that make up our blessed lives. I fear my babies will be the same as yours, older, wiser mother - grown up and gone in the blink of an eye.

 

 

 

But for now, I will remember that nearly twelve year old heart, his sweet nature, the way he still loves to hug his mum, his young man's body changing and growing stronger by the minute. I'll remember my little four year old still chunky and squidgy, with that melt-my-heart smile, that contagious giggle and that way he shows kindness and love with ease. 

 

These are my boys ...

 

 

 

 ... and I love them to bits and pieces.

 

Be Inspired Monday: Canvas Blackboards (Tutorial)

 Introducing ... the 'new' Sufficient Grace! Things have changed around here and it's just a tad bit exciting! Intrigued? Have a peek here to see the changes! While you're visiting, enjoy the first post for 'Be Inspired Monday' below ...

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I've been wanting to make some canvas blackboards for my kids rooms for a while now and found some time to make them the other afternoon. It was so enjoyable to be doing something creative, it has been far too long in between times! I thought I would show you how to make one too.

 

 

 

Here's a list of supplies you will need:

• Canvases of your choice of size and amount (these are 12"x 24" thin and flat)
• a brush of some sort to achieve a smooth finish
• blackboard paint (apparently you can make your own, mine is store bought)

 

 

• a hot glue gun and glue sticks
• ribbon of your choice
• sharp scissors
• glad wrap
• you don't necessarily need a cute little helper as in above photo, but I prefer one!

 

 

 This project really isn't very time consuming and it's always nice to achieve something quickly when you're pressed for time. I had to give the canvases three coats of the blackboard paint (you can choose a different colour if you prefer) so that there was really even coverage. You could prime the canvases first with a white acrylic paint, but I didn't have any on hand, so I chose to do three coats instead (Make sure you shake or mix the paint really well before using to mix all the pigments thoroughly). I find that the more coats the smoother the chalk writes on the surface. Take care to make sure you have a smooth, even finish by swiping your brush (I used mine on the side of the long edge as it covered a larger surface area faster) from one side to the other in a straight line before the paint dries, you don't want to end up with bumpy chalk writing!

 

A little tip to make cleaning up easier. Line your painting surface with glad wrap before you begin painting, then you will be able to just peel it off quickly and throw it in the bin, and your surface won't be covered in paint!

 

 

 

 Coffee break while the coats of paint dried thoroughly ...

 

 

 

 

 Little Miss P also painted a mini blackboard canvas and we thought that it's the perfect size for grabbing when on the go. At places like basketball (where the younger kids wait for the older kids to finish playing), piano lessons (where one is waiting for the other) etc. this will be a great, quiet, minimal mess activity for hangman, naughts and crosses or just drawing with two sticks of chalk! It's even a great size for Mr R to use while in the shopping trolley seat as I do the groceries (or while I have a coffee with friends at Gloria Jeans!)

The places this little blackboard can go are endless! I think I'll keep it with the chalk together in a large zip lock bag, so it's ready to grab on the way out the door. Imagination tool!

 

 

 Once the paint is thoroughly dry you can begin to add the ribbon to the edges using the hot glue gun. To measure the length of ribbon needed, you just need to stretch it along the sides of the canvas and snip with about an inch overhang at each end. With the girls canvas (above and below photos on the left) the ribbon came with a glue strip pre-attached, so no hot glue was required. The boys ribbon (above and below photos on the right) needed to be applied with the hot glue gun.

Make sure your hot glue gun is very hot and not warm, and you will need to use a fairly generous amount in a line along the edge so that it really adheres properly. It took me a couple of times of trying as my gun wasn't hot enough and the ribbon just peeled off because there wasn't enough glue. I used my fingers to quickly rub the ribbon on the glue in sections as I went along the length of the sides. Be careful as the glue is obviously still hot!

 

 

 

 The girls chose a 'girly' kind of ribbon, and the boys chose, in my opinion, the most boring ribbon out of the three I had to choose from (photo a couple above)! The ribbon over hang on each end is so that you can flip your canvas over and hot glue them down to the back of it as tabs. This helps to keep the ribbons in place even more and gives a nice neat finish to the edges as well.

 

 

The main purpose that I was wanting to create these canvases is so that I could use them as a way to teach my children more of God's word. Children can be such visual learners and having these canvases in their rooms (they share rooms) reminds them of the importance of God's Word and living in His ways. I really desire my children to remember His Word and this is just another way it can be done! It's also an excellent tool for me because it is just so easy to wipe it off and write a new verse every couple of weeks or so.

I may also write great quotes or little messages to them on these as well, but for the most part, it will be scriptures. (I will actually go back and add the reference too, so the kids learn where to find the verse)

 

 

 

 

 This is the first verse I've chosen for the kids to memorise, John 15:12. I love that I can choose a verse that's something I'm teaching into the hearts of my children too. (As you can see in both above and below photos, we are in the process of painting walls!)

 

 

As these are flat canvases, they don't have hanging wires, so I have just leaned the boys one against their wall on their drawers and the girls one is blue-tacked to the wall as it is light enough!

 

 

 

Well, that's it! I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and enjoy making your own canvas blackboards! I'll be happy to answer any questions for you and would love to see or hear how your canvases turned out too! Have fun being creative!

 

I've linked up with A Wise Woman Builds Her Home for even more inspiration for you, my lovely readers to enjoy!